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"Myn! Would you be a dear and go fetch some fresh herbs for dinner? It should have stopped raining by now," Tayali asked as she chopped contentedly at her work station. Turning slightly to gaze at her daughter with a hopeful look in her dark eyes. "It's your papa's name day after all!" The older woman reminded the girl with the resulting squeal as her reward. Chuckling at the energy the petite girl held, Tayali turned back to her chopping.

As Mynta skipped her way down to the herb garden on the outskirts of the kitchen complex the spitfire hummed an odd tune. With her skirts bunched in her hands she flashed the fabric side to side in her excitement. Spring was finally here, bringing with her all the pretty flowers and herbs that made Mynta's world explode in color. Soon she would begin to hang various bundles from the rafters in her room to dry for the winter months. Already she could smell their dusty perfume as the summer sun dried them out.

As she neared the edge of the garden Mynta forced her mind back to her current task. Ginta joined her then, bringing a giggle to the teen. "Well hello Gin. I wondered if you'd join me!" She teased tracing his mask gently. "I guess we'd better get some sage and thyme for Mama's roast. Do you think I should grab some mint and sugar-beets so I can make Papa his favorite dessert?" She asked the large blue knowing full well that he was already distracted by the dancing VTOLs in her path. After pulling her herb knife from it's sheathe in her pocket, Mynta knelt down to spread out the cloth she brought to carry her bounty in. Within moments Mynta was absorbed into her task. Her voice carried over the garden in a silly song as she cut a few choice sprigs.

M'kai wasn't sure why Taranisleth had insisted they stop here. They were a bit too close to the mine for the healer's comfort. But Taranisleth had insisted. They were hidden now just passed the treeline.

There! The thunder rumbled triumphantly as they watched a young woman leave the hold section of the mine and walki into the nearby garden. I knew I sensed something M'kai looked up at the massive beast. She will be good for a dragon Taranisleth calmly informed his rider. M'kai just continued to stare at the dragon. While they'd had some search training after Taranisleth started showing an unusual interest in some of the candidates, M'kai had never really been expecting to ever search someone out. He and Taranisleth rarely left the weyr. Between his duties as healer, and being a weyrling, there was too much to do, and what free time he had, was usually spent with Laerin.

Go talk to her Taranisleth nosed his rider, making the healer stumble several steps forward. "Fine, fine" M'kai grumbled good naturedly, brushing off imaginary dirt. "I'll go" He sighed "Lets just hope this doesn't screw up" He'd never searched anyone before. L'roy was supposed to take him out on a search run to learn exactly what he was supposed to do, but that hadn't happened yet.

He approached the garden, which had a small wall around it. Enough to keep out most pests, or small children, but hardly anything for a tall man like him. It was almost too easy for him to hop over it. As he tugged on his flight jacket, resettling it, he silently called to Patch, the rust coloured bronze flicking out of between, to land on the man's shoulder.

Once he was close to the girl, he leaned against the wall, a charming grin on his face and a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes as he said "Excuse me miss, but would you be able to tell me where I am?"

Of the two in the garden, Ginta was the first to notice the new comers. The distractible blue was the first to notice a lot of things of course, but this particular one would interest Big Sis. So as the intruders came in closer, Ginta called out a warning. Now Mynta on the other hand took a moment to stand up after the warning was given. She was after a particularly nice sprig. However this piece was a pain to break free given that it was trapped in the middle of the bush.

When the man's voice met her ears, Mynta felt her knife slip. Pulling her hands back to safety, Mynta glanced up from her crouching position. Curiosity danced in her blue eyes as she looked up and down the new comer. "Why this is Canyon Mine, stranger. I know we're small but most folk around here know the place.... So now I wanna know where you come from... That design doesn't look all that familiar..." Mynta rambled on as she started to move closer to the new man. Obviously she never listened to her mother when the woman warned her about strange men!

"Why aren't you a cute one!" She said as the light came on in her mind. Just who was this? Her lack of fear was obvious on her smiling face as she stopped in front of the stranger. Well he was only a stranger for now... After all Myn never met a true stranger!

The silver rider smiled as the girl commented on his looks. He wasn't sure if the flirting was intentional or not, but it was rather cute. He was tempted to point out the ring around his finger, but decided it was best not to. It would be easier if the girl was comfortable with him, and she'd likely get embarrassed about flirting with a man who was already taken.

"Canyon Mine huh?" M'kai smiled as he looked around. It was a mine, and it was in a canyon. "Gotta love a group of people who call it like it is. Though their not always so great on naming kids. Met a lad once by the name of Jasper. He claimed he was named after his Ma's favourite stone" A frown crossed his face "Though I never could tell if he was having me on about that one" His mock serious expression was quickly ruined by his grin.

"I'm Malakai" He introduced himself, figuring that using his full name would, at the very least, prevent him from forgetting to answer, which was a very real risk with a false name. Patch chittered at him from his shoulder "The rusty looking beast here is Patch." Taranisleth gave him a gentle mental poke, the sense of static reminding M'kai of the reason they were here. M'kai's blue eyes slipped out of focus as he poked Taranisleth back. Hush you He told the silver I'm working on it. It's not like I've ever done this before.Well you should think about working faster. Laerin and Alazandriath were expecting us to be home by now.

"Sorry about that" M'kai said to the girl as he blinked his eyes back into focus "My partner refuses to leave the treeline." He grinned at the girl. She seemed completely unafraid of him. Maybe he could work this to his advantage in his mission down here. "Want to come see if you can help me coax him out?"

M'kai's grin was infectious, Mynta realized has her own fact twitched into a wider grin of its own. "I guess someone was running out of names when they came here," She commented with a twinkle in her blue eyes. "Jasper, huh? Must have been a miner's kid!" She joked with a thumb pointed to her own chest. "Just like me!" She managed to giggle out before the male introduced himself. Her smile turned into a beaming grin as she nodded in greeting. Her mouth had just opened to add her own name to the mix when Malakai continued onward to ask for her help.

"Is he shy or something?" She asked as she bent to the side slightly as if to peer around her new friend. "I'd be happy to help out!" She cried swishing her skirts to the side. "Just lead the way Malakai. Me and Ginta will be right behind you. I just need to grab my knife before I forget about it." She said with a grin before twisting around to locate the herb bush she was busy at just moments ago. With excitement bubbling in her veins at the idea of meeting another new friend, Mynta hummed once again as she skipped back to her bush. In one quick move the girl managed to snag the metal tool from the dirt. "There!" She cried as she brandished the blade above her head. "I've got it!" She giggled as Ginta raised a claw to the shiny object.